Switching from TWC to DirecTV

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Ns1
130 up front, about 55 per month

1 x HD-DVR
1 x HD receiver

their 69.99/month plan

Switched because of 50 hd channels. Discovery HD + FoodNetwork HD FTW.


There is no longer any reason to leave the apartment.

TWC has those. Most of the programming on DTV's "new" channels isn't HD.

Oh, and your picture quality won't be as good, and you'll lose reception in the rain. Which everyone likes to respond with "so what how much does it rain anyway?"...and the answer is, if it's raining, that's when you're inside watching TV.

TWC definitely does not in my area. I get whopping...

CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, UHD, MHD, MOJO, ESPN,HDT....

I think that's about it that I even have a chance of watching. HBO/SHOW/ETC also but I don't subscribe to premium anymore. Also live in SoCal so bad weather isn't too much of a concern

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Ns1
130 up front, about 55 per month

1 x HD-DVR
1 x HD receiver

their 69.99/month plan

Switched because of 50 hd channels. Discovery HD + FoodNetwork HD FTW.


There is no longer any reason to leave the apartment.

TWC has those. Most of the programming on DTV's "new" channels isn't HD.

Oh, and your picture quality won't be as good, and you'll lose reception in the rain. Which everyone likes to respond with "so what how much does it rain anyway?"...and the answer is, if it's raining, that's when you're inside watching TV.

It was raining last night in Atlanta. I was watching my DirecTV just fine.

And the picture quality is fine with the new HD channels that use MPEG-4. Much better than their original set of HD channels that were using MPEG-2.

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Ns1
130 up front, about 55 per month

1 x HD-DVR
1 x HD receiver

their 69.99/month plan

Switched because of 50 hd channels. Discovery HD + FoodNetwork HD FTW.


There is no longer any reason to leave the apartment.

TWC has those. Most of the programming on DTV's "new" channels isn't HD.

Oh, and your picture quality won't be as good, and you'll lose reception in the rain. Which everyone likes to respond with "so what how much does it rain anyway?"...and the answer is, if it's raining, that's when you're inside watching TV.

It was raining last night in Atlanta. I was watching my DirecTV just fine.

And the picture quality is fine with the new HD channels that use MPEG-4. Much better than their original set of HD channels that were using MPEG-2.

Like I said, it's a YMMV. It may not be as much of an issue as it was years ago, but it's still an issue for some people. My neighbor with DTV doesn't always lose his signal from just a little rain, but when it comes down hard, he does get intermittent losses. It seems to be worse with HD channels.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Ns1
130 up front, about 55 per month

1 x HD-DVR
1 x HD receiver

their 69.99/month plan

Switched because of 50 hd channels. Discovery HD + FoodNetwork HD FTW.


There is no longer any reason to leave the apartment.

TWC has those. Most of the programming on DTV's "new" channels isn't HD.

Oh, and your picture quality won't be as good, and you'll lose reception in the rain. Which everyone likes to respond with "so what how much does it rain anyway?"...and the answer is, if it's raining, that's when you're inside watching TV.

It was raining last night in Atlanta. I was watching my DirecTV just fine.

And the picture quality is fine with the new HD channels that use MPEG-4. Much better than their original set of HD channels that were using MPEG-2.

Still not as clear as Cable's picture.
Another cable pro: One Demand is FAR superior....we use that feature daily. There's more stuff On Demand than you can ever watch.

Cable DVR's are better. DTV's are a convoluted mess, IMO. And yes, I've tried their newest stuff, MPEG-4 and all.

And DTV is not cheaper if you actually compare apples to apples, plus there's that whole up-front cost thing. You might find a deal to avoid it, but there's never any up front cost with cable.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Ns1
130 up front, about 55 per month

1 x HD-DVR
1 x HD receiver

their 69.99/month plan

Switched because of 50 hd channels. Discovery HD + FoodNetwork HD FTW.


There is no longer any reason to leave the apartment.

TWC has those. Most of the programming on DTV's "new" channels isn't HD.

Oh, and your picture quality won't be as good, and you'll lose reception in the rain. Which everyone likes to respond with "so what how much does it rain anyway?"...and the answer is, if it's raining, that's when you're inside watching TV.

It was raining last night in Atlanta. I was watching my DirecTV just fine.

And the picture quality is fine with the new HD channels that use MPEG-4. Much better than their original set of HD channels that were using MPEG-2.

Still not as clear as Cable's picture.
Another cable pro: One Demand is FAR superior....we use that feature daily. There's more stuff On Demand than you can ever watch.

Cable DVR's are better. DTV's are a convoluted mess, IMO. And yes, I've tried their newest stuff, MPEG-4 and all.

And DTV is not cheaper if you actually compare apples to apples, plus there's that whole up-front cost thing. You might find a deal to avoid it, but there's never any up front cost with cable.

I don't use on demand. ever. In terms of my actual bill, it's coming out a touch cheaper but I'm getting better channels. And more HD channels. Seriously, a half assed discoveryHD is better than no discovery HD.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Still not as clear as Cable's picture.

I've seen Comcast's HD picture. I like the new DirecTV HD channels better.

Another cable pro: One Demand is FAR superior....we use that feature daily. There's more stuff On Demand than you can ever watch.

Don't use it. Don't care. Though DirecTV is just starting out with their own version of on-demand via internet.

Cable DVR's are better. DTV's are a convoluted mess, IMO. And yes, I've tried their newest stuff, MPEG-4 and all.

I've never liked the cable DVR's. Can't stand the interface. I prefer the TiVo interface but I don't find the HR20 DVRs bad at all. There are some things they do better than the TiVo DTV receivers and some things they don't do better. Overall, I find it extremely simple to do the basics of picking channels, setting shows to record, and watching recorded shows.

And DTV is not cheaper if you actually compare apples to apples, plus there's that whole up-front cost thing. You might find a deal to avoid it, but there's never any up front cost with cable.

Every time I did a price comparison between Comcast and DirecTV in Atlanta for the same features and service, Comcast came out to be more expensive. Comcast also has some of the worst customer service I have ever seen. I have also yet to pay for one of my HD DVRs.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Still not as clear as Cable's picture.

I've seen Comcast's HD picture. I like the new DirecTV HD channels better.

Another cable pro: One Demand is FAR superior....we use that feature daily. There's more stuff On Demand than you can ever watch.

Don't use it. Don't care. Though DirecTV is just starting out with their own version of on-demand via internet.

Cable DVR's are better. DTV's are a convoluted mess, IMO. And yes, I've tried their newest stuff, MPEG-4 and all.

I've never liked the cable DVR's. Can't stand the interface. I prefer the TiVo interface but I don't find the HR20 DVRs bad at all. There are some things they do better than the TiVo DTV receivers and some things they don't do better. Overall, I find it extremely simple to do the basics of picking channels, setting shows to record, and watching recorded shows.

And DTV is not cheaper if you actually compare apples to apples, plus there's that whole up-front cost thing. You might find a deal to avoid it, but there's never any up front cost with cable.

Every time I did a price comparison between Comcast and DirecTV in Atlanta for the same features and service, Comcast came out to be more expensive. Comcast also has some of the worst customer service I have ever seen. I have also yet to pay for one of my HD DVRs.

I have Comcast basic since I have their data service and when I purchased my HDTV I went by the local Comcast office and picked up an HD DVR to use while waiting for DirecTV to come out with their HD DVR. It was a Scientific Atlanta 8300? (can't recall the exact model #) and as far as I am concerned it was the most convoluted, clunky DVR interface I have ever used. It was so bad that in most cases I would just record standard def with my DirecTV TIVO box rather than fight with the Comcast box. While I would rather DirecTV have used TIVO for their HD box their system does have a few nice features to offset what TIVO features I no longer have.

 

[Ns1]

Oh yeah. My hd-dvr box is 20 bucks a month through TWC. after 5 months the upfront cost of the directv is cheaper.

The one thing I will give TWC is no contract vs 2 years for directv

I mean don't get me wrong, I fought tooth and nail to get TWC in here instead of directv (3 weeks, 8 appointments, 5 techs), but the lack of hd support is killer.

 

[Lotheron]

There is a AAA discount for new subscribers to knock off another $10 a month for the ENTIRE contract. When you use a referal discount on top of this and on top of the $20 webrebate, it becomes that much BETTER than TWC. The $99 for the DVR will get paid for by the $6.95 you WERE paying for TWC DVR service. Plus, TWC will never be able to add HD channels as easily as DirecTV. Not to mention, the D11 bird goes up in March for many more channels of HD goodness.

 

[QueBert]

+1 for On-Demand, I don't watch much TV at all, when a friend showed me On-Demand and how much of it doesn't cost any $$$. I did start to watch more. I can't imagine TV without On-Demand now.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: OneOfTheseDays
Here's the thing, in the short term DirectTV is definitely the way to go for HD goodness. Longterm, cable will be able to compete and best whatever offerings you get from DirectTV. Already cable companies are ramping up installation of the necessary infrastructure to get fiber into all of the neighborhoods. If you look at what's on the horizon for cable, it won't be long before you are coming back. DirecTV will always have to deal with a constant in terms of bandwidth and lag, while cable will be getting exponentially better in those areas over the years.

probably not...thats what they were also saying about cable verses dsl internet..lolol

 

[Rage187]

Best switch I ever made.

Fuck Comcrap,

:beer: for DirecTV :heart:

 

[ColdFusion718]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Ns1
130 up front, about 55 per month

1 x HD-DVR
1 x HD receiver

their 69.99/month plan

Switched because of 50 hd channels. Discovery HD + FoodNetwork HD FTW.


There is no longer any reason to leave the apartment.

TWC has those. Most of the programming on DTV's "new" channels isn't HD.

Oh, and your picture quality won't be as good, and you'll lose reception in the rain. Which everyone likes to respond with "so what how much does it rain anyway?"...and the answer is, if it's raining, that's when you're inside watching TV.

It was raining last night in Atlanta. I was watching my DirecTV just fine.

And the picture quality is fine with the new HD channels that use MPEG-4. Much better than their original set of HD channels that were using MPEG-2.

Still not as clear as Cable's picture.
Another cable pro: One Demand is FAR superior....we use that feature daily. There's more stuff On Demand than you can ever watch.

Cable DVR's are better. DTV's are a convoluted mess, IMO. And yes, I've tried their newest stuff, MPEG-4 and all.

And DTV is not cheaper if you actually compare apples to apples, plus there's that whole up-front cost thing. You might find a deal to avoid it, but there's never any up front cost with cable.

What about that BS $35 activation fee you gotta pay each time you cancel and get comcast again? It's not upfront because you pay for it on your first bill?

Do you guys get OnDemand in HD or those crappy digital IPTV quality feeds?

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: Linflas

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Ns1
130 up front, about 55 per month

1 x HD-DVR
1 x HD receiver

their 69.99/month plan

Switched because of 50 hd channels. Discovery HD + FoodNetwork HD FTW.


There is no longer any reason to leave the apartment.

TWC has those. Most of the programming on DTV's "new" channels isn't HD.

Oh, and your picture quality won't be as good, and you'll lose reception in the rain. Which everyone likes to respond with "so what how much does it rain anyway?"...and the answer is, if it's raining, that's when you're inside watching TV.

the rain issue isn't that big of a deal. Living in Oklahoma we get a ton of thunderstorms, severe weather, tornadoes, you name it. On DirecTV we only lost signal twice through a ton of bad weather. Once when there was a massive thunderstorm just to our South and the second when a tornado went by us 2 miles to the South.

I hate DirecTV because their equipment sucks and they refuse to do anything to fix it. I went through 5 HR-20 DVR's before I finally had enough and canceled my service.

What problems did you have with your HR20 boxes? I've had mine for about a month now, and I like it so far. I just got a 1tb hard drive for it, and love the eSata interface. It took hours to upgrade my HD Directivo box, but the HR20 was recording is five minutes.

They also have a beta going for their on demand service for the HR20. I haven't tried it yet, because I need a way to network my box. It sounds cool though.

I have problems with audio dropouts on my HR20-700. Oddly enough if I rewind it a second or 2 and just let it play 2 seconds delayed the audio dropouts stop. There are threads about some of the quirks of this equipment over at dbstalk.

I had my first audio drop last night during the first hour of Lost. I thought it was my preamp at first, but maybe not. The firmware was just upgraded a few days ago, so maybe that's the cause. I need to pay dbstalk a visit.

 

[anxi80]

Originally posted by: Cruisin1
I recently switched from Cox cable to DirecTV. One thing I noticed is that I do not receive Ch4 San Diego and MOJO. I found out that MOJO is only offered to cable companies, which kind of sucks cause I got laker games sometimes on MOJO (via NBA TV), and I have to pay for NBATV with directv. Ch4 San Diego I don't mind not having because frankly the only thing on that channel is Padre games.... and um... I think there's like 3 or 4 people on earth that watch them play

no way!!!!! i have all my tv's tuned into channel 4 when they play as well as a few family members! so its more like 8 or 9 people... so in yo' face!

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: DT4K

Originally posted by: skace

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Oh, and your picture quality won't be as good, and you'll lose reception in the rain. Which everyone likes to respond with "so what how much does it rain anyway?"...and the answer is, if it's raining, that's when you're inside watching TV.

This was a more valid concern many years ago but now you need a pretty significant storm to lose reception, the kind of storm likely to cause your power to go out anyways.

Apparently, this is a YMMV thing. When we had Dish about 2 years ago, we lost signal all the frickin time. Now we have cable, but we have several neighbors with DTV. They all have issues when there is heavy rain, which is pretty often in Charlotte, NC.

We've had TWC since moving here almost 2 years ago and been pretty satisfied with it.
Pros: In 2 years, we've had our cable go out once for a couple hours. HD picture quality is fantastic. HD DVR's for $5/month each.

Cons: Their DVR's suck. They get the job done most of the time, but the interface is lame, you can only see 1 week ahead on the schedule, they don't have some of the features that Tivo's have, and the hardware is flaky. In 2 years, we've had to replace a DVR like 3 or 4 times. It's a pain, but at least it doesn't cost me anything.

If you were losing your signal all the time, then your dish wasn't aligned right. I've had DTV for about 10 years, and I might have lost my signal 3 times due to bad thunderstorms, and another 3 times because of snow build up on the dish.

EDIT: I misread your DVR statement.

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Ns1
130 up front, about 55 per month

1 x HD-DVR
1 x HD receiver

their 69.99/month plan

Switched because of 50 hd channels. Discovery HD + FoodNetwork HD FTW.


There is no longer any reason to leave the apartment.

TWC has those. Most of the programming on DTV's "new" channels isn't HD.

Oh, and your picture quality won't be as good, and you'll lose reception in the rain. Which everyone likes to respond with "so what how much does it rain anyway?"...and the answer is, if it's raining, that's when you're inside watching TV.

It was raining last night in Atlanta. I was watching my DirecTV just fine.

And the picture quality is fine with the new HD channels that use MPEG-4. Much better than their original set of HD channels that were using MPEG-2.

Still not as clear as Cable's picture.
Another cable pro: One Demand is FAR superior....we use that feature daily. There's more stuff On Demand than you can ever watch.

Cable DVR's are better. DTV's are a convoluted mess, IMO. And yes, I've tried their newest stuff, MPEG-4 and all.

And DTV is not cheaper if you actually compare apples to apples, plus there's that whole up-front cost thing. You might find a deal to avoid it, but there's never any up front cost with cable.

BS, you sound like a capcast fanboy. The picture quality of DTV is wonderful. I used to get crappy pixilation with Comcast. Not to mention that I went through 3 HD-DVR's and my mom just went through her 4th. She's ready to switch back to DTV now.

DTV IS cheaper for what I purchase. I didn't pay anything up front.

Saying the DVR's are a "convoluted mess" is rather silly and an opinion, not a fact. How hard is it to press the guide button and scroll down? WTF kind of moron has a problem with doing that. Recording only requires the click of a button. Playback list is easy and groups items together by show.

On Demand is nice, I will give you that. But when you have Comcast send you bills for SIX MONTHS after you cancel your service that add up to $1000 dollars....they're fucking IDIOTS. Comcast customer service is the worst experience I've ever had with a company. I've had them flat out lie to me multiple times. I've had them overcharge me. I've had them charge me a "service change fee" for $9.99 for 3 months and none of their CS could figure out why. That was also AFTER I cancelled my service and got the $1,000 dollar bill fixed. Oh yeah, want to know how many HOURS of calls, talking to managers and going down to my branch office for them to try and figure out why Comcast was turning my service off, then back on, then back off, then back on, then back off....FOR SIX MONTHS and charging me over $150 a month?

Yeah. You keep your Comcast. Those guys can rot in hell.

 

[Jugernot]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Ns1
130 up front, about 55 per month

1 x HD-DVR
1 x HD receiver

their 69.99/month plan

Switched because of 50 hd channels. Discovery HD + FoodNetwork HD FTW.


There is no longer any reason to leave the apartment.

TWC has those. Most of the programming on DTV's "new" channels isn't HD.

Oh, and your picture quality won't be as good, and you'll lose reception in the rain. Which everyone likes to respond with "so what how much does it rain anyway?"...and the answer is, if it's raining, that's when you're inside watching TV.

It was raining last night in Atlanta. I was watching my DirecTV just fine.

And the picture quality is fine with the new HD channels that use MPEG-4. Much better than their original set of HD channels that were using MPEG-2.

Still not as clear as Cable's picture.
Another cable pro: One Demand is FAR superior....we use that feature daily. There's more stuff On Demand than you can ever watch.

Cable DVR's are better. DTV's are a convoluted mess, IMO. And yes, I've tried their newest stuff, MPEG-4 and all.

And DTV is not cheaper if you actually compare apples to apples, plus there's that whole up-front cost thing. You might find a deal to avoid it, but there's never any up front cost with cable.

Dude, you do realize that DTV has like 40 on demand channels now and has thousands of program available for download. On demand on DTV is better than any cable system I've ever seen.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: Jugernot

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Ns1
130 up front, about 55 per month

1 x HD-DVR
1 x HD receiver

their 69.99/month plan

Switched because of 50 hd channels. Discovery HD + FoodNetwork HD FTW.


There is no longer any reason to leave the apartment.

TWC has those. Most of the programming on DTV's "new" channels isn't HD.

Oh, and your picture quality won't be as good, and you'll lose reception in the rain. Which everyone likes to respond with "so what how much does it rain anyway?"...and the answer is, if it's raining, that's when you're inside watching TV.

It was raining last night in Atlanta. I was watching my DirecTV just fine.

And the picture quality is fine with the new HD channels that use MPEG-4. Much better than their original set of HD channels that were using MPEG-2.

Still not as clear as Cable's picture.
Another cable pro: One Demand is FAR superior....we use that feature daily. There's more stuff On Demand than you can ever watch.

Cable DVR's are better. DTV's are a convoluted mess, IMO. And yes, I've tried their newest stuff, MPEG-4 and all.

And DTV is not cheaper if you actually compare apples to apples, plus there's that whole up-front cost thing. You might find a deal to avoid it, but there's never any up front cost with cable.

Dude, you do realize that DTV has like 40 on demand channels now and has thousands of program available for download. On demand on DTV is better than any cable system I've ever seen.

Wow, I'm going to have to try it now. I know you have to network your box, but what else do you need to do?

 

[Jugernot]

Network it and select On Demand from the main menu. This puts a request into the DTV system to upload the On Demand software to your DVR and it should appear within a day or two.

Once it gets pushed from DTV, you have to wait another day or so to download the full list of programs available and from then on you are good to go.

It pulls all data down (updated content lists, software updates, etc.) via satelite with the exception to the actual content.

As I said before, there are THOUSANDS of programs available including on demand for premium channels, etc. there are even HD on demand program available.

EDIT: Also, as far as upfront cost, I spent $200 upfront for 1 HD DVR, and 3 HD recievers. Considering I'm saying $15 a month and have gained 60 extra HD channels... I can handle it.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: Jugernot
Network it and select On Demand from the main menu. This puts a request into the DTV system to upload the On Demand software to your DVR and it should appear within a day or two.

Once it gets pushed from DTV, you have to wait another day or so to download the full list of programs available and from then on you are good to go.

It pulls all data down (updated content lists, software updates, etc.) via satelite with the exception to the actual content.

As I said before, there are THOUSANDS of programs available including on demand for premium channels, etc. there are even HD on demand program available.

I think I'll try it tonight. I have a wireless network adapter I could use to network it. Thanks!

 

[Jugernot]

List of DirecTV On Demand channels 55 Currently listed

 

[Drako]

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Ns1
130 up front, about 55 per month

1 x HD-DVR
1 x HD receiver

their 69.99/month plan

Switched because of 50 hd channels. Discovery HD + FoodNetwork HD FTW.


There is no longer any reason to leave the apartment.

TWC has those. Most of the programming on DTV's "new" channels isn't HD.

Oh, and your picture quality won't be as good, and you'll lose reception in the rain. Which everyone likes to respond with "so what how much does it rain anyway?"...and the answer is, if it's raining, that's when you're inside watching TV.

the rain issue isn't that big of a deal. Living in Oklahoma we get a ton of thunderstorms, severe weather, tornadoes, you name it. On DirecTV we only lost signal twice through a ton of bad weather. Once when there was a massive thunderstorm just to our South and the second when a tornado went by us 2 miles to the South.

I hate DirecTV because their equipment sucks and they refuse to do anything to fix it. I went through 5 HR-20 DVR's before I finally had enough and canceled my service.

Sounds exactly like my neighbors DirectTV HD DVR experience. He's on his 6th STB now, but he's sticking it out. I was going to switch from Comcast to DirectTV the end of last year, but his experience is making me wait until they got the quality issues fixed.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: Jugernot
List of DirecTV On Demand channels 55 Currently listed

I was shocked to see that I had access to them this morning.:Q I didn't mess with it much, but I did notice that HD content was pretty empty. There were just 3 movies, and they were ppv. There was tons of standard def stuff though. I downloaded 2 15 minute episodes of Robot Chicken, and a review for Super Smash Brothers, just to see how long it would take. It was longer than I thought it would be but it wasn't bad. I tested my download speed before I started, and it was 10Mbps, so I thought it would have been quicker.

I wonder when they will start putting network tv on it?

Sounds exactly like my neighbors DirectTV HD DVR experience. He's on his 6th STB now, but he's sticking it out. I was going to switch from Comcast to DirectTV the end of last year, but his experience is making me wait until they got the quality issues fixed.

Drako, do you have any idea what his issues are?